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Welcome to the warm-hearted wineries of the Bot River

“From the top of the Houw Hoek Pass, one gets the first glimpse of the vast, rolling hills and big sky of the Bot River area,where real people make real wine”.

This credo of the Bot River Winegrowers Association describes the unspoilt, down-to-earth, sociable character of the farmers – our wines are for lovers of the road less travelled. Within a 10km radius, the wine traveller can experience real country hospitality and taste wines made from the oldest vines in the region as well as the latest, most innovative varietals from new plantings. From historic and traditional wineries to the most modern, state-of-the-art cellars, the common denominators are a warm welcome; handcrafted, top quality wines; a commitment to biodiversity and the desire to share hours of sociable sipping with fellow wine lovers.

How we got our name: The Bot River was known by the San people as the ‘Gouga’ (meaning “abundance of fat”). The same word was used for butter, a commodity produced in abundance by the Khoi-San who lived on the banks of the river where pastures were good. Merchants who travelled from the Cape to trade a variety of wares for full casks of butter named the river Botter as early as 1672. Now, of course, the river represents wine!